I Died So I Could Haunt You
by Hexiva
Summary: After the Red Skull's apparent death at the hands of the Winter Soldier, Steve starts to see his archenemy everywhere. Unfortunately, no one else can see him. Is he going crazy, or is there something more to what he's experiencing? AU of the Winter Soldier storyline, Slash, Cap/Skull. TW: suicidal thoughts, unhealthy relationships, prejudice against the mentally ill
1. Setup

Steve crouched in the Red Skull's empty apartment, staring at the bloodstained chalk outline where his body had lain. Could it be true? Was the Red Skull really dead? After all this time, could something as simple as a bullet take him out just like that?

"I don't like this, Fury," he said. "This feels like a setup."

"I think it's real," Fury replied. "That face, you can't make something like that twice. Not that exact."

"He's right, you know." That voice. Somehow, no matter what body he was in, no matter what mask he was wearing, the Red Skull always managed to sound the same to Steve.

Steve froze in place for a second, and then whipped around to see the Red Skull standing casually in the corner of the apartment. His face was the same as the one Steve had seen in the morgue, except twisted and tense with barely-controlled hatred. The corpse had looked . . . peaceful, more so than the Red Skull ever had in life. That was half the reason Steve couldn't believe that it was the real Skull.

"You," Steve growled to the man in the corner. "I should have known."

"Did you really think a bullet could kill me?" The Red Skull laughed. "No, old enemy. I'll die by your hand or not at all."

"What are you doing here?" Steve snapped. "If you faked your death, why come back to the scene of the crime?"

"Uh . . . Steve?" Sharon Carter asked. Steve glanced away from the Skull, and noticed that she, Nick Fury, and all of the SHIELD agents were staring at him like he'd gone mad.

"What?" Steve asked.

"Who are you talking to?"

Steve frowned. Wasn't it obvious? He pointed at the Red Skull. "Him, of course!"

There was a long pause. Sharon and Fury exchanged a look. After a moment, Sharon said, gently, "Steve, there's no one there."

Steve looked over to the Red Skull, who smirked. "Oh, did I forget to mention? They can't see me, Captain. Only you can."

"What are you talking about?" Steve said, to both Sharon and the Skull. "He's right there."

There was another long, awful pause. "We should get you home, Steve," Sharon said. "I know you've been having a rough time lately . . ."

"Take some time off," Fury said. "Get your head together."

"What - but -" Steve protested, looking wildly between the Skull and his friends.

"You probably just need to get more sleep," Sharon said, although she sounded like she was trying to convince herself more than him.

Steve stared at the Skull. "There's really no one there?"

In unison, Fury and Sharon shook their heads.

Steve was hurried off the crime scene like an invalid. He changed back into his civilian clothes, and then one of the SHIELD agents got him a taxi back to his apartment. On the ride back, the Skull appeared on the seat next to him.

"Losing your mind, Captain?" the Skull chuckled. "I always knew it would happen one day."

Steve tried to ignore him. He wanted desperately to believe that this was some sort of plot - one of his enemies drugging him, perhaps, or some sort of mindfuck thought up by the Skull himself. But he knew that the most likely explanation was that he was simply losing it. All of those dreams, all of those losses . . . God. Sharon had been right.

"I'm flattered you think this is my doing," the Red Skull said. He followed Steve out of the taxi and walked down the alleyway with him.

Steve walked through the hologram and into his apartment, undressed, and lay down in bed. The Skull sat on the edge of the bed watching him.

"Go away," Steve muttered.

The Skull chuckled. "I can't. I'm you, remember? Just a figment of your tortured imagination."

Steve shut his eyes and tried to sleep. Maybe if he got some rest, this would all go away and he could get back to work.

* * *

As always, he dreamed about the war. Baron Zemo stood before him, laughing. Steve knew what was about to happen. He knew this dream by heart. He looked to his left, and saw Bucky beside him. He knew he was going to die, but he couldn't do anything. He was paralyzed as he watched Baron Zemo start to launch the plane and Bucky start to run after it . . .

And then there was a sharp gunshot and Baron Zemo clutched his chest, bleeding, and fell to the ground.

The Red Skull walked up. He was wearing his old WWII jumpsuit and mask. He prodded Baron Zemo's body with a booted foot. "Insufferable fop," he muttered.

Steve frowned. "That didn't happen."

"No," the Red Skull agreed. "Why are you still dreaming of this day? I thought I allowed you to redeem yourself long ago." He gestured, and Baron Zemo's castle melted away, replaced by Skull House, Steve lying strapped to the Skull's machine. The Skull was now wearing his green robe and yellow scarf, just as he had then.

Steve sighed and ran a hand through his hair. "It doesn't work like that, Skull. You and Baron Zemo made me relive that day, and yes, I did save Bucky in that illusion. But here, in reality, Bucky is still dead."

"It was reality," the Skull argued. "_A_ reality. Jack Monroe _was_ Bucky Barnes. You _did_ save him. You redeemed yourself."

Steve shook his head. "No matter what I do now, in the present . . . I can never go back in time and undo what I did that day."

"But you couldn't have done anything," the Skull protested. "That pathetic child rushed into battle of his own accord. He was delighted to accompany you."

Steve flinched. Bucky had been eager to fight with him. And he had been just a child . . . only twenty-one, when he died.

"Ungrateful wretch!" the Skull snapped, seeing his expression. "I built this machine for you. I sought out Baron Zemo's heir, for you. I brought you here - " he gestured wildly to the Skull House - "All to give you a chance to wipe away the sins of your past! To face the future with a clean slate! And yet all you can think of is some worthless whelp whose death was inevitable."

He seized Steve's face in his hands, and dragged his fingernails down his cheeks - just as he had done that day in the Skull House, when he had died in Steve's arms.

The pain woke Steve up with a start, and he bolted upright in his bed, his cheeks stinging. He was alone in his room. He looked over to the clock, and saw he'd only been asleep for a half hour or so.

He put a hand to his cheek, and to his horror, felt blood. His eyes widened.

The Skull appeared beside him. "You feel my mark upon you, Captain. Yes, I can touch you." To demonstrate, he laid a hand on Steve's shoulder.

"No . . ." Steve breathed, staring at that hand.

"You're confused, Captain. You can't tell whether I'm real or a figment of your fragmenting mind, and it terrifies you not to know the difference between truth and madness. You know . . . there is a way you could prove it, one way or another. Find out if I'm part of you . . . or truly the Red Skull."

Steve's eyes narrowed. "How?"

"I know things you couldn't possibly have found out without me." He nodded to Steve's cell phone on the bedside table. "Call Mother Night. I will give you her phone number, and she will confirm that I am real."

Steve considered. He didn't like the idea of doing anything that the Red Skull told him to do, but he needed to know if he was going crazy. How could he investigate the Skull's murder if he didn't even know if he was dead?

He picked up the phone. "All right."

The Skull told him the number, and he dialed it. After a couple of rings, a man's voice answered. "Hello?"

"Hello. Is Mother Night there?" Steve asked, awkwardly. This whole experience was surreal.

"Of course, sir," the man said immediately. Apparently the Red Skull's voice wasn't as distinct from Steve's as he thought it was.

After a moment, Mother Night's voice came through the phone. "Johann? What happened? Are you all right?"

To his horror, Steve felt his lips move without his permission. "Detonate the bombs now. Do not answer the phone again tonight, whatever happens." The voice coming from his mouth was curt and cold, cruelly disregarding the obvious concern in Mother Night's voice. His hands reached up and shut the phone off, apparently of their own accord.

"No!" Steve gasped, once he had control of his mouth back. "No!" He hit redial, having some vague notion of impersonating the Skull and rescinding his orders, but Mother Night didn't pick up. Frantically, he dialled Nick Fury.

"What is it, Rogers? Thought I told you to get some sleep."

"Fury, Mother Night has a bomb of some sort, and she's going to detonate it now - "

"Where?" Fury asked, urgently.

"I don't know - you can track the number, it's - " There was a commotion on the other end of the line, and Steve heard Fury distantly shouting orders. "Fury?"

A couple of moments later, Fury returned. His voice was grim. "Someone just blew up Paris. Wiped it off the map. And you'd better have a good explanation for how you knew it was gonna happen."

Steve looked down at his hands, and saw blood under the fingernails. He heard the Red Skull laughing maniacally as he let the phone drop to the floor.


	2. Depravity and Shame

Half an hour later, Steve was sitting in a SHIELD holding cell. He'd told Nick Fury exactly what had happened, and he couldn't blame Fury for locking him up. He was still shaking. God, what had he done?

The Red Skull appeared, sitting next to him. "How does it feel, to have the blood of millions on your hands?" he gloated.

"You're sick," Steve snapped.

"Am I? Or is it all you? What kind of a man would imagine his worst enemy taking control of his body, Captain?"

"One who's caught him trying to do it more than once?" Steve suggested. He was almost grateful for the Skull's smug presence; it was better than being alone with his thoughts.

"Maybe. Or maybe one who just can't face life without the Red Skull."

"You're delusional."

"How very hypocritical of you. You're the one going mad."

"You've been mad for longer than I've known you."

"Guilty as charged, Captain. But no one relies on me to save them, do they?"

Steve swallowed and went silent. Fortunately for him, his misery was interrupted by Sharon Carter coming up to the glass front of his cell.

"Sharon," Steve said.

"How are you holding up?"

Steve winced. "Not great. How's Paris?"

Sharon looked away. "There are survivors. SHIELD's trying to get them help."

"Like you," the Red Skull commented, "They will be wracked with guilt for the rest of their lives."

Steve shut his eyes. "I'm still seeing him, Sharon."

"I know. Don't worry. Just relax, and we'll get you some help."

"Help? He's _in my head! _What kind of help can you get for that?"

There was a pause. "Steve . . . you've been under a lot of stress lately. You haven't been acting like yourself."

Steve drew a sharp breath. "You think I'm going crazy."

"I think you're under too much pressure and having a hard time."

"How could I have known Mother Night's number if it wasn't really the Red Skull in my head? How could I have known about the bombs?"

"I don't know, Steve. You've fought with her before. It wouldn't be the craziest thing that's happened to you."

"Less crazy than the Red Skull haunting me, you mean."

"Yeah."

"Why would I hallucinate the Red Skull of all people? I _hate _him."

"The feeling is mutual, I assure you," the Red Skull said, smirking.

"He's your last connection to the past," Sharon said. "You told me you still dreamed about 1944. Like it or not, he is - he _was _the only one who knew you back then. I can understand why you might miss him, as awful as he was."

"_Miss _him?" Steve said incredulously. "I don't believe this!"

"Whatever it is," Sharon said, "you never let him win before, and I believe you won't let his memory defeat you either." She turned away. "Good luck, Steve."

And then he was alone with the Red Skull.

"She's right, you know," the Skull said, with an awful smile. "We have shaped each other, you and I. You were _made _for me."

"I was made to _defeat _you," Steve corrected, uncomfortable with the phrasing.

"Exactly. It's our destiny. Grappling through eternity, locked in battle . . . keeping each other miserable."

"It doesn't have to be," Steve pointed out. He knew the Skull wouldn't accept, but he had to extend the offer. "We could make our own destiny."

"Why do that when this one is so perfect?"

"Skull." Steve gave him a look. "You just said you were miserable."

"I am darkness personified. Happiness is beyond me. But sadism . . . domination . . . hurting you is almost like being content."

Steve winced in pity. "That sounds awful. Don't you want something more than that? There are people who love even you, you know. Mother Night, Crossbones, Synthea . . ."

The Skull waved that away. "What care I for the companionship of inferiors? Synthea is a failure, Crossbones a tool, and Mother Night a toy. You are the only one who has ever been my equal."

Steve shook his head. "You should treat them better. They may not be good people, but they care about you. Good friends are hard to find."

"Especially for you, eh?"

Steve sighed. "Yeah." He wondered if Sharon was right. If he really did miss the Red Skull.

He knew he didn't really hate Schmidt. How could he? No matter how many awful things the Red Skull did, he was still just a pathetic, broken shell of a man. Steve felt sorry for him. But _missing _him?

* * *

He was released from SHIELD custody and put on psych leave. After all, it had been the Red Skull who planted the bombs and Mother Night who detonated them. All Steve had done was make a phone call. They thought he was crazy, but not dangerous.

"But you and I know better, don't we?" the Red Skull said, as Steve returned to his apartment.

"I'll die before I let you use me to hurt anyone else," Steve said, grimly. "I'm stronger than you. I won't let you take control again."

"You don't even know what I am. What if you can't stop me?"

Steve clenched his jaw. "Like I said. I'll die before I let you use me again."

He took a long, hot shower, as if the warm water could wash away all the guilt and confusion and fear of the day. His muscles ached. The day's tension had done what three rounds with the Third Reich's best couldn't do.

He got out, and was towelling off when he caught a glance of the bathroom mirror. Of their own accord, his eyes travelled up and down his reflection. His mouth opened, and a voice not his own breathed, "_Beautiful . . ."_

Steve had never gotten dressed so fast in his life.

The Skull was laughing at him as he exited the bathroom. "Does my desire disgust you, Captain? I would've thought you would be inured to it, consorting with fops and degenerates as you do."

_Hypocrite. _"It isn't because you're a man. It's because you're _you._ If you can't figure out why that bothers me, I don't think I can explain it to you."

"Oh no, I understand perfectly. It makes a beautiful symmetry, don't you think? I am the only one who can stir your sainted heart to hate, and you are the only one who can stir me to - " the Red Skull cut himself off suddenly.

Steve looked at him in shock. "To what?"

"What would you have me say, Captain?" the Skull said, quietly.

"You were going to say 'love,' weren't you?"

"And if I was? What difference would it make? You still hate me. And for my part, if you think hate and love cannot coexist in my blackened heart, you are mistaken. There is little difference to me."

"I don't hate you, Skull," Steve said. "I - pity you." He wasn't at all sure, suddenly, if that was the right word, and quickly added, "I wouldn't've expected you to . . . you know, lean that way. After what you did to Arnie." That memory still cut him deeply.

"And why not, Captain?" the Red Skull said, with an ironic twist of his lips. "I have always been the picture of depravity."

"It's not 'depravity,'" Steve said, sharply. "Not even when you do it."

"No?" the Skull said, raising a brow. "You surprise me, Captain."

Steve shrugged. "Love is love." He looked at the Skull with sympathy. "It seems like it must be . . . everybody else isn't worth your time." What must it be like, living without love or even compassion?

"You are the only one who ever was," the Skull said, quietly.

Steve reached out and cupped the Skull's mutilated face. The villain's blue eyes widened in surprise and confusion.

Kissing the Red Skull was surprisingly easy. The other man's scarred lips parted for him, and he was still and quiet in Steve's arms. Steve could feel the tangle of emotions he felt - shock, hatred, longing, disappointment, pain - radiating off him.

And then the Skull pushed him away, fury overriding his other emotions. "How dare you mock me," he hissed.

"I'm not mocking you," Steve said, gently. "I meant it."

That provoked another wave of shock, and then the Skull vanished suddenly.

"I know you're still here," Steve said to the empty room. "I can feel you in my mind."

There was no answer.


	3. Captain America's Grave

Sharon Carter called the next day.

"How are you doing, Steve?" she asked.

"Uh," Steve said. _Well, I think I'm going crazy, I'm convinced my worst enemy is stuck in my head, and I just kissed a mass murderer. _

"You sound a little bit weird."

"No kidding." Of all the people to make an exception to his sexual orientation for, why the Red Skull? Why couldn't he have kissed Sam or Tony or _literally any other man in the world _if he wanted to lean that way all of a sudden?

"What happened?"

"Nothing," Steve said quickly. "I just - I'm still seeing him, that's all."

"Just him? Nothing else started showing up?" Sharon asked, concerned.

Steve gave a relieved laugh. "No, thank god. I don't think I could deal with more than one villain in my head." He shook his head. "How's the investigation going?"

"Well," Sharon said, sounding like she was trying to figure out how much she should tell him. "They found Mother Night dead in Paris. She wasn't killed in the explosion - someone murdered her, probably the same person who did the Skull."

Steve drew a pained breath. "I'm sorry to hear that."

"_I'm _not," Sharon said.

"She was no hero, but it's never good news when someone dies," Steve said.

"If you say so. Listen, I should get off the line - Fury's probably trying to call you right now. But take care of yourself, all right?"

"I'll try to," Steve said, smiling. "You too, Agent Thirteen."

The next call was, as Sharon has predicted, from Nick Fury, and when that call ended, Steve was no longer smiling. He dialed Tony Stark. "Sorry to call so early, but I need your fastest jet waiting at LaGuardia in ten minutes."

Once he hung up, he was surprised to see the Red Skull reappear in his apartment. "Trying to outrun me? It won't work."

"No," Steve said. "Just have some business that needs attending to. Nothing to do with you, or you'd already know what it was."

"But if I am part of your mind, Captain, then your business is my business."

"You've _always _thought that my business was your business. It still isn't." He put his phone down and turned back to the Skull. "Aren't you the slightest bit sorry about what happened to Mother Night?"

"No, why should I? Once you and SHIELD knew her location, she was useless to me."

Steve studied the Skull's empty blue eyes. Last night, he had been convinced there was something human in him. This morning, he couldn't see anything resembling sorrow or regret. "She loved you."

"And I found her a convenient physical outlet."

Steve turned away in disgust. How could he have kissed this psychopath?

* * *

William Naslund and Jeffery Mace. Their names were barely legible, the gravestones vandalized and smashed.

The gravestones of Captain America.

"Hmm . . . I remember those names . . . but it has been a long time since I heard them," the Skull said, standing by the grave. "Friends of yours, I believe?"

"They were Captain America," Steve said.

"But _you _are Captain America," the Skull said.

"Not for years. Not while I was frozen."

The Skull's lips twisted. "I knew you had successors, but they were never Captain America in my mind. That honor I reserved for you."

"I'd be touched," Steve said dryly, "If it didn't mean that you wanted to destroy me and everything I stand for."

"Of course," the Skull said, with a mocking bow.

"Did you do this?" Steve asked, gesturing to the graves.

"The Skull shook his head. "Of course not. As I said, I cared nothing for these pretenders to your title. They weren't worth the time it would've taken to disgrace their graves."

"You've done worse to people just for taking my name."

"But that wasn't about them. It was all for you. I wanted you to see their bodies and know that this was the fate that awaited anyone daring to take up your mantle."

Steve grimaced. "Yeah, I think whoever did all this wanted me to know that, too. You're not helping your case."

"Why would I need to send you a message like that? I have you right here. I'm in your head. I can do anything I want to you, Captain." The Red Skull smiled sadistically.

Steve shuddered."Someone who hated Captain America a great deal, and knew a great deal about me, did this. And you fit that bill pretty damn well."

"You have many enemies, Captain. I just happen to be the best of them."

Steve decided not to argue with that. "Who would go as low as desecrating graves, other than you?"

The Skull laughed at him. "Plenty of people. Is vandalizing symbols so far beyond your imagination, Captain? They dug up Stalin's grave after he was dead. Is that so appalling to you? Neither of us are overfond of Communism. Although, perhaps, you missed America's flirtation with McCarthyism, and never experienced the fervent hatred of Communism which marked my youth."

"I guess not." Steve shook his head. "I guess you're not too torn up about Albert Malik's death, huh."

"Prattling imposter," the Skull said, scornfully. "Not that I would have been pleased had a Nazi taken my name. _I _am the Red Skull, just as you are Captain America."

"I'm Steve Rogers," Steve said, quietly, "And you're Johann Schmidt."

Schmidt shook his head. "No. You and I are something more than a pair of weakling orphans getting into fights we couldn't win."

"You too, huh?"

"I was an easy target," the Skull admitted, easily. "But I never have been one to turn the other cheek. And, for all your talk of forgiveness, neither have you."

"Forgiving someone who wants to change is one thing," Steve said. "But if you give up, the bullies win."

"And if you become the bully?" the Skull asked.

"Then no one wins," Steve said firmly. He looked back at the graves and saluted them, then got back on his motorcycle.

- And suddenly he was back in Baron Zemo's castle.

"_Captain?"_

Bucky screamed as the cat-o-nine-tails cut into his flesh. Zemo gloated over it, smug and superior as always.

"_Captain, snap out of it!"_

Steve was chained up, helpless to save Bucky or stop Zemo. He strained at the chains, desperate to do something, anything -

"_Steve!"_

Steve blinked, and he was once again on his motorcycle, alone on the road. "Did you just call me Ste - " he started - and then was cut off by gunfire.

He hit the ground and took shelter behind his shield. Over the edge of it, he saw a tall, muscular figure in a skeleton mask.

_Crossbones._

"_Verdammt," _the Red Skull said. Out of the corner of his eye, Steve saw the villain putting one black-gloved hand to his face.

Suddenly, he was hit with another flashback. Baron Zemo was threatening to rip out Bucky's eyes.

That disorientation was all the Red Skull needed to seize control of his body. He pulled off the cowl, and shouted, "Crossbones! Cease fire, _eisel!" _

Crossbones paused. He wasn't used to Captain America speaking German out of the blue. "What?"

"It's me, you fool," the Skull said, standing up and brushing off the ridiculous red, white and blue costume.

"Boss?" Crossbones said stupidly.

"Who did you _think _it was?" the Skull snapped, in a display of total unfairness.

"Captain America?" guessed Crossbones. "Why are you dressed like Captain America, boss?"

"Because I stole his body, fool," the Skull said.

At this point, Steve returned to himself, and found himself standing and chatting to Crossbones without his cowl. He frowned. "What happened?" _What are these memories? _he asked himself.

"Uhh . . . boss?"

"You're having some sort of flashbacks," the Skull explained, from the sidelines now, "And he thinks you're me. I suggest you not disabuse him of this notion."

The memories came back again, suddenly, and Steve fought to focus. For a moment, he was standing with Crossbones, and then next minute he was chained up, and then he saw the Red Skull's face above him, eyeing him with what passed for concern.

"Let me handle this, Captain," the Skull said, and Steve vanished into the memories.

"What was that, boss?" Crossbones asked.

"He's struggling to regain control," the Skull said, back in control of Steve's body for the moment. It was not exactly the full truth, but it would suffice. He didn't need his underlings to think he was weak. "What are you doing here?"

"Tryin' ta kill Captain America," Crossbones said.

The Skull slapped him. "Idiot! _No one must touch him but me. _Have I not told you that, Crossbones?!"

Crossbones put a hand to his face. "Yes, Boss . . . sorry Boss . . . only we all thought

you was dead."

"You should have known better than to think me so easily defeated," the Skull said. He gestured back towards the graves. "Was this all a trap for him?"

Crossbones looked back at the defaced graves and then at the Skull, and then shrugged. "Maybe? All I know is some Russian guy called me and told me where I could find you - I mean, ol' Cappy."

"Russian?" The Skull narrowed Steve's eyes. "Lukin."

"Who?" Crossbones said.

"General Lukin. He killed my old body. What does he want with Rogers, I wonder?"

"Beats me." Crossbones shrugged. "What do you want me to do? I should probably get outta here before the cops show up. You comin', boss?"

"No," the Skull said, after a moment's consideration. "I can do more if they think I am Rogers." And, he thought to himself, I don't need to have my operations uncovered the moment the Captain regains control of his body.

"All right. Good luck, boss!" Crossbones looked both ways, heard sirens, and started running away.

The Red Skull got back on the motorcycle, and was halfway down the road when Steve regained consciousness.

"What was _that?" _Steve said, under his breath.

"As I said, you seem to be suffering from some sort of flashbacks. I wouldn't have believed you susceptible to so common an affliction as shell shock, Captain," the Red Skull's voice said, in his head.

"It's not that," Steve said. "These memories, they're not real. They never happened. What are you doing to me, Skull?"

The Skull laughed. "I? Nothing. This is all your own work, Captain. Perhaps you should see some sort of doctor."

"I don't trust you as far as I can throw you, Skull."

"If you could throw me, then you wouldn't be having this problem, would you?"

"What did you do while I was unconscious?"

"I exchanged information with Crossbones," the Skull said.

"What kind of information?" asked Steve, suspicious.

"I informed him that I was alive, and he informed me how he found you," the Skull said, seeing no reason to lie.

"So how did he find me?" Steve asked.

"Apparently he was given an anonymous tip by a Russian man." The Skull waited to see if that triggered anything with Steve.

It didn't. "Russian?" Steve frowned.

The Skull considered how much he should tell the Captain. "Shortly before my death, I was threatened by a former Soviet general named General Lukin. Does that name mean anything to you?"

"No, should it?"

"Apparently he wants you dead very badly."

"Great. He can get in line. Right now I have bigger problems."


	4. Peace

Steve took Stark's plane straight to his hometown in Maryland.

"What are we doing here?" the Red Skull said as Steve left the airport, looking around with his lip curled in disgust.

"This is where I was born." Steve paused, and then shook his head. "I think. God, I can't even remember where I was born, Skull. What have you done to me?"

"I told you. Nothing," the Skull snapped.

Steve shook his head. He walked down the streets, looking around nostalgically. "That's where I went to school," he said, speaking quietly enough not to attract attention from the passers-by. "I used to get into fights all the time. My mom always used to say, 'Why don't you just run away?' But I never did."

"I ran away when I was seven," the Skull said, unexpectedly. "Some fights cannot be won."

Steve looked at the Skull, sympathetic. He had a feeling he knew what the Skull was talking about. "I knew I could always go home to my mother, and she'd bandage me up. It means a lot, to have someone on your side like that."

"I don't need your pity, Captain," the Skull snapped.

"I know. But I don't want you to think that being afraid made you what you are - or think that _I _think that. I know I was lucky. But that doesn't mean you couldn't have been anything else."

"Even if I'd been born to the richest man in Europe, Captain, I could never have been anything but the Red Skull."

"I don't believe that. No one's born evil."

The Skull laughed. "I murdered over two million people this week, old enemy, and I can't even imagine feeling regret for it."

Steve looked down. His hands clenched into fists. "I know. I've got enough regret for two of us."

They walked in silence for awhile. Steve stopped in front of a restaurant. "This building . . . it used to be a theatre. I'd go watch movies there, when I had the money. That's where I first saw the Nazis, first got the idea of enlisting. I wanted to do my part to stop them."

"When was that?" the Red Skull asked, curious despite himself. He had told the Captain of his own past before, but this was the first time Rogers had reciprocated. He vaguely wondered what had brought on this change.

"Fall of 1940, I think."

The Red Skull laughed. "I cannot imagine that. The first time I saw them . . . it was 1923. The Beer Hall Putsch. They planned to take over Germany." He smiled. "They did not succeed. That was the first time I saw a man murdered. And the first time I held a gun in my hand and threatened to shoot."

"So you were arrested?" Steve guessed.

"Arrested? No, you misunderstand. I was not a Nazi. I was but a frightened child." He shook his head. "I didn't have the courage to pull the trigger."

"I wouldn't want that kind of courage," Steve said.

"But you must have it. You were a soldier."

Steve looked down again. "I said I didn't want it. Not that I didn't have it. If push comes to shove . . ."

"And yet you wouldn't give me the gift of death," the Skull said, sounding peeved.

"Because it wouldn't have done any good. You were dying anyway. So was I. And I thought you'd just murdered everyone I cared about - and everyone who might've cared about you. Killing you wouldn't have saved anyone."

"It would have given me peace," the Skull said, quietly.

Steve shook his head. "I can't do that, Skull. Only you can."

The Skull laughed bitterly. "Peace is hardly my area of expertise."

Steve grinned ruefully. "Nor mine." He continued on down the streets. After awhile, he stopped at a movie theatre. "Have you even seen a picture since the war?"

"What are you playing at, Rogers?" the Skull asked, finally. "What is this?"

Steve didn't answer, and instead walked up to the ticket kiosk. "Two for - " he glanced around at the posters - "_The Bourne Ultimatum, _please."

"Two, Captain?" the Skull said.

"Well, you're seeing it too, aren't you?" Steve asked.

"I'm in your head."

"Yes, but I wouldn't feel right about buying one ticket for two people."

"You're pathetic."

* * *

"A spy thriller," the Red Skull said as they exited the movie. "Very appropriate."

"I thought it was a bit violent."

"You have seen people tortured to death in front you, Captain."

"Yes, and I'd rather not be reminded of it while I'm at the movies, thank you."

It was getting late. Steve went and got his bags from Stark's plane, and got himself a hotel room for the night.

"So, now, Captain. Will you tell me what it is we're doing here? Are you trying to regain your memories in the hopes of exorcising me?"

"No," Steve said. He sat on the edge of the bed, and took a gun out of his bags. "I just wanted to be somewhere familiar when I died."

The Red Skull went cold. "What?"

"I'm falling apart, Skull." Steve looked down at the gun. "I'm forgetting who I am. I'd rather die as myself than live as whatever you'll make me into. There are already millions of people dead because of me."

"Because of _me," _the Red Skull insisted. "It was _my _plan. _I _killed those people."

"And you used me to do it."

"If you kill yourself, I'll just move onto another body," the Skull lied. "The President, perhaps. Or your dear little Sharon Carter. She might be easier to control than you. I could do whatever I wanted to her."

Steve shook his head. "Nice try, Skull, but I already know you can't leave me. If you could, you wouldn't have stuck around in my head fuming after I kissed you."

The Skull was surprised to find that he was afraid. He had faced his own death before without fear, and he had certainly faced the Captain's doom many times with outright glee. But it seemed terribly wrong for the Captain to go this way. By his own hand. Perhaps it was just what he had told Crossbones - that he hated the thought of anyone else killing the Captain before he could. Or perhaps he just wasn't certain what to do with himself if the avatar of hope and light could feel despair.

He sat down on the bed next to the Captain, not making any indentation in the blankets, and put his hand over the Captain's, on top of the gun. "Captain." He hesitated. "Steven. I have . . . considered this course of action many times. Once, when I was imprisoned alone far underneath the earth, with nothing to sustain me but water. When the darkness overcame me, I saw figures from my past . . . and present. My father. My daughter. Hitler. Zola. They all told me I deserved to die. I stood there alone in the dark with a shard of glass in my hand, imagining my own daughter had told me to use it on myself. And then . . . you came to me. In the darkness, I could see only your costume - the star, the stripes, the 'A' - your symbols of hope. You told me you didn't want to see me dead, no matter how despicable I was. You told me that someone would save me, sooner or later. You told me not to give up."

He had never told anyone this before, but, then, he had told Rogers a great many things that he would never have trusted anyone else with. The same reason he hated the Captain was the same reason he knew he could trust him: Rogers was as much good as the Red Skull was evil.

"You won that night, Captain. You said it yourself. 'If you give up, the bullies win.' You've never been willing to let me win before, so _fight _me. Don't give in."

The Captain looked up at him, and his hand turned over, to clasp the Skull's. "All right, Skull. All right."


	5. The Rescue

Steve woke up the next morning and stared at the ceiling. "I've had a lot of weird weeks in my life," he said, to no one in particular. "But I think this one has them all beat." Last night, he'd been planning to kill himself - only to be talked down by, of all people, the Red Skull.

He got up and got dressed in his civilian clothes, then ordered breakfast from room service. He ate it quickly. He had plans for today, as much as he didn't want to carry them out.

"Your American food is too sugary," the Red Skull complained.

"Then stop tasting my food," Steve said, through a mouthful of pancake.

"I can't. I'm stuck in your body."

"Sucks to be you." Steve finished his breakfast, got his bags together, and headed uptown.

"Where are you going now?" the Skull said, warily.

"I'm not thinking of killing myself again, if that's what you're worried about."

"Killing _yourself? _I'm concerned you're going to kill _both _of us," the Skull griped.

"Don't worry about it," Steve assured him, as he stopped in front of the hospital.

"What are you doing here? You're in perfect health."

"You were right to tell me not to kill myself," Steve said. "But I can't just allow you to do whatever you want with my body. So I'm going to check myself into the hospital on mental health grounds."

"What?" The Red Skull stared at him blankly. "You're going to have yourself locked up in an _insane asylum? _Why?!"

"Because I'm seeing the ghost of my worst enemy, having uncontrollable flashbacks, and thinking about killing myself. I think that's fair grounds to call in some help."

"What about Lukin?" the Skull said. He almost added, _what about the Cosmic Cube? _but stopped himself at the last minute.

"SHIELD can deal with Lukin. I've got my hands full just dealing with you." He strode into the hospital lobby and took the elevator up.

"Lukin is a more dangerous enemy than you imagine," the Red Skull warned.

Steve opened his mouth to answer - and then was seized with a sudden, vivid image of Sharon Carter in chains. The vision was so real that he knew immediately that it was reality, that someone was sending him a message. ". . . _Sharon . . ." _he hissed, and slammed the down button on the elevator.

"What? Who was that?" the Skull said, having seen the same image in Steve's mind. "Your Jewess?"

"What? Bernie? No!" Steve glared at the Skull. "And don't call her that. She has a name." He rushed out of the hospital, and made a beeline for the airport. "We have to get to Sharon, she's in trouble."

"'We'?" the Skull questioned.

Steve ignored him and rushed to Stark's plane and boarded it quickly. The pilot looked up from his newspaper. "Thought you might not be coming back."

"How fast can this thing go?" Steve blurted out.

* * *

It had been a trap. Steve held Sharon tightly, as they watched the explosions destroy Downtown Philadelphia.

"No . . ." Steve whispered.

The Red Skull applauded slowly. "Congratulations, Captain. First Paris, now Philadelpha. Magnificent."

"Shut up," Steve muttered.

"I didn't say anything," Sharon said. There were tears in her eyes.

"No . . . not you." He shook his head. "He's . . . still in there."

Sharon shook her head. "I'm so sorry."

"It wasn't your fault . . ." Steve knew, deep down in his heart, that it was _his _fault.

He shook himself out of the haze of horror, and hurried to help the rescue efforts. People could still be saved. He had to do something.

* * *

"So," the Red Skull said, after all the meetings were concluded and Nick Fury had explained his theory. "Bucky Barnes."

"It can't be," Steve said. He was out on his daily run, and the Skull, of course, was following him with effortless speed.

"Why not? You and I have survived all these years."

"He would never - he wasn't a murderer."

"If there is one thing the Nazis taught me, it is that any man can be a murderer. You and I, we were born to be what we are. But there were men in the SS who had families and lives and consciences, and they had as much blood on their hands as I did. Evil is not rare, Captain."

"But Bucky -" Steve took a long breath. "He was my friend. My best friend."

"When I was young, I had a friend named Dieter. He would, no doubt, have said we were best friends," the Red Skull commented.

"What happened?" Steve said, dreading the answer.

"I shot him in the head."

Steve winced. "Somehow all of your stories end with murder, Skull."

"He was a Communist," the Skull said, as if this excused anything.

As they approached Steve's apartment, they were stopped by Sharon Carter.

"Oh, hey, Sharon . . ." Steve said.

"What the hell do you think you're doing, you son of a bitch?!" she demanded.

"Well, I _just _finished a twenty mile run, and I was planning to work on the heavy bag for awhile . . ." Steve started.

"Braggart," the Skull muttered.

"Don't try and get cute with this, Steve Rogers!" she snapped. "You told Fury to take me off the team for the Kronas Op!"

Steve blinked. "Wait. What did you just call it?"

"Kronas, the Kronas Op. You know, Lukin's corporation."

"Lukin's corporation is named Kronas?" Steve said, urgently.

"I've been wondering why that name seemed familiar to me," the Red Skull commented.

"Yes . . . why? What is it?" Sharon frowned.

"Kronas was a small village in Russia, not too far from Stalingrad," Steve explained.

"'Was?' What happened?" Sharon asked.

Steve sighed. "There was a Nazi secret weapon there, manned by the Red Skull."

"Ahhhh yes. Kronas," the Red Skull said, smiling. "I remember now."

"He set it to self-destruct. We tried to stop the fire but . . . it was too late." He turned an eye on the Red Skull. "How could you forget?"

"Do you imagine that was the first time I committed mass murder, Captain?" the Skull asked, raising a brow. "Or the last?"

"You're a monster," Steve said, in disgust. Sharon glanced in the direction he was looking, and clearly guessed what was passing between him and the Skull.

"So why would Lukin want to name his corporation after some backwater Russian town?" Sharon asked.

"Maybe he was born there," Steve said, shaking his head. "Before it was destroyed."

"That would explain why he killed _me, _but not why he's out to get _you," _the Red Skull said. "_You _tried to save those worthless wretches."

"I did try," Steve said. "But there were so many people there that I failed to save. I wouldn't be surprised if the survivors blamed me." He shook his head again.

Sharon looked concerned. "I wish you wouldn't talk to him," she said. "It can't be a good idea."

"You almost sound like you believe it's really him," Steve said.

Sharon shook her head. "I don't know what I believe anymore. Just . . . be careful, okay? And no matter who or what he really is . . . don't trust him, Steve."

"I won't," Steve promised. But inside, he was thinking about the Skull's hand covering his own on the gun, the Skull's voice telling him not to give up.

* * *

"An impressive act of misdirection, Rogers," the Red Skull said, as they re-entered Steve's apartment.

"What?" Steve said, distractedly.

"She came in angrily demanding answers. She left worrying for you."

"What? No! I didn't mean to do that, I just . . . I got distracted, thinking about Kronas."

"If you did not intend to distract her from the issue, why did you ask Fury to have her removed from the team?" the Red Skull asked.

Steve sighed. "She's too close to this."

The Skull raised his brows. "And _you _aren't?"

"Not the way she is."

"The target wants to kill and torment you because you failed to save his village from my hands. One of his bodyguards is your deceased ex-partner. He forced you to witness the death of thousands of people just to torment you. If you were any closer to this mission, you'd be _inside _it."

"Bucky is _not _the Winter Soldier."

"I saw him too, Captain," the Skull said. "And unlike you, I do not allow my emotions to cloud my vision."

"You didn't know him like I did."

"Of course I did. He was a way to get to you, a way to hurt you. I studied him."

"That's not the same thing," Steve said stubbornly. "He was my friend. That's something you can't understand."

"Not entirely true, my old enemy," the Skull said.

Steve sighed. "We're not friends, Skull. You keep trying to kill and torture me."

"Then what would you call us?" the Skull said, smirking.

Steve hesitated. After kissing the Red Skull, being talked down by the ledge from him, telling him about his past, 'enemies' seemed like too simple a word. But he couldn't forget Paris, or Kronas, or any one of a hundred incidents in which the Skull had murdered people without a trace of regret. He could never call himself a friend of such a man, even if the Skull _wasn't _trying to torment him personally. "I don't know anymore."

"Perhaps we have transcended such simple terms." The Skull smiled.

"Or maybe this whole situation is just messed up," Steve said, grimly.

* * *

The day of the op, the air in the SHIELD helicopter was tense. Steve had the feeling that Fury and Sharon expected him to break at any moment. When he had asked Fury to have Sharon taken off the mission, Fury had told him frankly that he was considering taking _Steve _off the mission - and Steve couldn't blame him.

He hadn't even told Fury about the flashbacks or the Skull taking control over him. He knew he should; hell, he knew he should go right back to the hospital and get himself put away somewhere safe. But now this was personal. Whoever or whatever this Winter Soldier person was, he was defacing Bucky's memory. And Steve couldn't rest until he'd gotten to the bottom of it.

_Just this one more mission, _he promised himself. _Then I'll deal with the Skull. _

"Right then, let's suit up, people," Fury said. "The element of surprise is vital here. All weapons silence, all contact over secure channel."

"Why exactly is the element of surprise so vital, Captain?" the Skull said. He was smirking again. "You're dealing with an aging businessman, not MODOK. What aren't they telling you?"

Steve glared at the Skull, but didn't dare say anything to him in front of the SHIELD agents. What was the Red Skull playing at?

But Steve did wonder if his enemy didn't have a point. He weighed asking Fury what was up, and potentially seeming even crazier than they already thought he was, vs. staying quiet and potentially going into a hostile situation underinformed.

And then the helicopter landed, and the decision was made for him.

They cut through the facility like a knife through butter, fast and silent. Steve stopped to seize one of Lukin's soldier by the collar. "Where is Lukin's assassin?!" he demanded. The soldier stared up at him with terrified shock.

"You should let me deal with him, Rogers," the Red Skull said. He brandished a knife. "I have ways of making him talk." An image flashed before Steve's eyes, of the soldier bleeding and screaming in pain and begging them to make it stop, and for one, awful, moment, Steve was so angry that he _wanted _that. He wanted to get his answers, at any cost.

"Steve, leave him, he's out of it," Sharon said, and Steve dropped the man and backed away in horror at his own thoughts.

"I - uh - right," Steve said, hurrying after Sharon. _What are you doing to me? _he asked silently.

"Nothing," the Red Skull said. "That was your own doing. I merely provided the image."

But there was no time to worry about his own sanity or the Red Skull's influence. He charged through the doors into the meeting room, ignoring Fury's caution.

And then everything went wrong.

Lukin was with the chief of staff to the vice president and the assistant to the secretary general of the U.N, and all of the Captain's accusations fell on deaf ears. As Fury ordered him to back off, Steve could hear the Red Skull's laughter echoing in his ears.

"Did you know this was going to happen?" he said under his breath.

"No," the Skull said, still laughing, "But I do always enjoy the chance to see you humiliated."

"Thought you wanted Lukin out of the way too," Steve muttered.

"Oh, yes. He killed me, Captain, and that is an insult that must be repaid in kind. But when my enemies clash, I cannot lose. Either you fail, or he does."

"Except, if I die, so do you," Steve said.

"Regrettable but true."

"Steve, are you okay?" Sharon asked, apparently having noticed him muttering to himself.

"Yes, just - Lukin played us. Again. Laughed in our faces."

Fury grunted. "I'll talk to _you _once we get back to base, Rogers. It was a mistake letting you get involved with this one in your state."

* * *

Steve walked back to his apartment from the SHIELD base, passed through the holographic wall, and sat down on his bed, his face in his hands.

Something was wrong. Lukin had all the cards. It was like he knew what they were going to do before it happened. Something was wrong, but all he could think about was Bucky and the war.

He remembered watching a propaganda flick with Bucky. Sitting there in the darkened theatre, in the crowd, watching their own faces on the screen. Bucky laughing at him, teasing him. Saying, "Sometimes I think if it weren't for me, you'd have no one who understands you."

A gloved hand landed on his shoulder and shook him. Startled, Steve looked up into the Red Skull's eyes. "_I _understand you, Rogers," the Skull said.

Steve laughed at that, bitterly. "No, you don't. Do you even understand _you?_" How many times had the Skull's plans failed because of his failure to understand people on any meaningful level? It was his greatest weakness, more than his arrogance.

The Skull scowled. "Then _make _me understand," he said, grabbing Steve's chin.

Steve studied the Skull's cold blue eyes, searching for a hint of humanity. Was the Skull even capable of understanding compassion?

"All right," he said, and shut his eyes.

He found the place in his mind where the Red Skull resided, a black cloud of evil and simmering hatred inside of him. He didn't flinch in delving into it; he already knew what Johann Schmidt was, and he accepted that.

He opened his own mind, and showed Schmidt the love he felt for Bucky, for his family, for Tony, for Sam, for Sharon, and, yes, even for the Red Skull himself.

He wasn't sure how he expected the Skull to react, but he certainly wasn't expecting the wave of pain and longing and anger that enveloped the Skull's mind in response. It _hurt _him to feel what Steve felt, and to know that he wasn't, and never would be, capable of it. That the empty, twisted mess of hatred and desire and jealousy he felt for Steve, never sure if he wanted to kill Steve or _be _him, was the closest he could ever get.

"_Oh," _Steve said, feeling that pain. He opened his eyes, stood up, and pulled Johann into his arms.

"I want you," Johann hissed, and he kissed his enemy, desperately.

Steve kissed him back, as if that could fill the terrible hole in Johann's soul, as if it could make up for a lifetime of hatred and directionless fury.

The Red Skull pushed Steve back on the bed and fumbled for his pants. Steve knew, surreally, that it must be his own hands unbuttoning his pants and pulling out his cock. He knew he was alone on his bed, losing his grip on reality.

But the Red Skull was kissing him and stroking him, looming over him on the bed.

"Yes - _God - " _Steve gasped. He could feel the Skull's lust and desperation, and his manic glee - thinking, _Finally. Finally. Finally, _delighted to finally have his enemy under him, finally have the one man he could ever respect, the one man who had ever meant anything to him.

It was nothing like sex with anyone else, their minds intertwined, forming a feedback loop, together and inseparable.

The Skull kissed him again, and he moaned into his mouth, and they came.

Steve collapsed down on the bed, lying there staring at the ceiling. The Red Skull slumped down next to him, panting. Steve put an arm around him.

After a while, Steve said, "Should I - ?" Steve gestured vaguely, trying to convey _get you off too? _without actually having to say it.

"No, of course not," the Skull said.

"Right," Steve said. They were in the same body, of course that wouldn't be necessary. But he couldn't help but think that it would have been nice to explore Schmidt's body in turn.

On an impulse, he said, "Skull. Would you show me your face?"

"This _is _my face," the Red Skull said. "If you'll recall, you made me inhale my own poison gas."

"No, I mean - your real face, back in the war. The only time I ever saw it was when you'd aged."

The Skull blinked. "I suppose so." He shut his eyes for a moment, as if trying to remember. And then his form changed, from being a disfigured mirror of Steve's own to being a lean man with short red hair and big ears. He was dressed in the green dressing-gown he had worn when Steve last saw this body, instead of his SS uniform or his green jumpsuit - which Steve was glad of, even though he know those were still a part of the Red Skull. There was a dull, cruel look to his blue eyes: the look of a man who would do anything for power, and had before. Despite never having seen this face before, Steve recognized the look in those eyes.

"Better?" Johann Schmidt said, raising an eyebrow.

Steve kissed him. "Perfect."


	6. The Cosmic Cube

"I know how to find your Winter Soldier," Johann said abruptly.

Steve paused in shaving. "What? How?"

"Some years before he shot me, I was working with Lukin towards . . . mutual goals."

"Trying to kill me?"

"Trying to overthrow your country, actually, but that, no doubt, would have been the end result. At any rate, during that time, I developed a method for tracking Lukin. As a result of his proximity to my secret weapon as a child in Kronas, he has a unique energy signal that can be tracked with certain devices," Johann lied. "And where you find Lukin, you will find the Winter Soldier."

"And you didn't mention this before because . . . ?"

"Because I have no particular desire to let you know all of the secrets of my operations, Captain."

"Still calling me that, huh?"

Johann opened his mouth to say that that's what Steve _was, _and then hesitated. Would Captain America, that shining symbol of patriotism, have slept with the Red Skull? Would he have asked to see the face under the mask? "Very well," Johann conceded. "Rogers."

"Close enough. So why tell me _now, _if you don't want me to know your secrets?"

"Because I begin to despair of you and your scrambling SHIELD friends ever hunting down my killer on your own. You've made almost no progress since my murder, and now you're on indefinite leave and thus separated entirely from the case. It seems I must take action myself." This much was the truth. Johann didn't plan on forever being nothing more than a ghost in Steve's head, and if Steve wasn't doing anything that might change that, Johann planned to do it himself.

Steve wiped his face off, and pointed to Johann. "_You _aren't doing anything yourself. If anyone's finding Lukin with this device of yours, it's going to be me. Don't think I've forgotten what happened last time I let you contact your cronies."

"The _last _time I contacted my 'cronies' as you put it, I saved you from being shot by Crossbones."

"I meant Paris," Steve said grimly. "All right. What's your plan?"

* * *

Steve located the secret A.I.D. base fairly easily with the Skull's directions. He found the back entrance and hesitated for a second, taking a deep breath.

Then he reached into his pockets, pulled out the Red Skull mask, and put it on. He then quickly entered the passcode and went in.

He did his best to stride down the hallway like he owned the place, instead of sneaking along like he really wanted to.

He heard voices from up ahead. " - should be."

"Face it, we're a joke without the Skull."

"An excellent opening," Johann commented.

Steve steeled himself, and then announced, in his best impression of Johann's arrogant manner, "The Red Skull has returned."

The two A.I.D. flunkies whirled around to face him. The one farthest away was piloting a suit of power armor, and he lost his balance and fell to the ground with a clanging of metal.

"H-Herr Skull!" the other one said, his eyes wide.

Steve really, really never wanted to hear himself called that again, but he forced himself to agree. "Yes. I have returned." He remembered what Johann had said when Steve first discovered him. "Did you really think a bullet could kill me?"

"N-no . . . of course not, Herr Skull!" the A.I.D. man said, whilst, behind him, the other one struggled to stand his power armor back up.

"Tell him to bring you to Dr. Gonzalez," Johann ordered.

"Bring me to Dr. Gonzalez," Steve said, trying not to question the choices that had led to him taking any kind of orders from the Red Skull.

"Of course, Herr Skull!" the A.I.D. man said, still staring at him as if he was seeing a ghost - which, Steve supposed, he was. He led the way down the twisting corridors of the A.I.D. base to a laboratory, in which a small, balding man was working. He, too, gave a start when he saw Steve.

"Herr Skull! I thought you were dead!"

"Did you really think a bullet could kill me?" Steve said, again. He had a feeling that if he started to try to improvise too much, he was going to have to fight his way out there.

"Tell him you need to track fourth-dimensional cosmic signatures," Johann ordered.

What in the world had Johann _made _that weapon out of? Steve wondered. "I need to track fourth-dimensional cosmic signatures, and quickly."

"You mean the - ? Of course, Herr Skull," Dr. Gonzalez said, quickly. "I just need to have the equipment sent up."

An hour later, they were watching a signal trace its way across the map. "Where is he going?" Steve asked.

Dr. Gonzalez gave him a very strange look. "Ah, well, if it continues in its current flight path, it could stop anywhere along - " He drew a line along the map - "here."

"And what's along there?"

"I don't know," Dr. Gonzalez said.

"How quickly can you find out?"

Dr. Gonzalez gave him a helpless look, clearly expecting to be killed for his failure. "If I knew what I was looking for . . ."

"Anything to do with Aleksandr Lukin or the Kronas Corporation," Steve said immediately.

"All right, that's . . . manageable." Dr. Gonzalez straightened his shoulders. "You'll have it within the hour, Herr Skull."

In under half an hour, he had the results. The most prominent one was a NextGen research facility recently purchased by Kronas. Dr. Gonzalez's carefully-researched notes said that it was an underground facility which hadn't been used for years. The only notable thing about it was a nuclear-safe vault below the surface.

"That's the one," Johann said, pointing to the facility's name on the list.

Steve looked at him. _You sure? _

"Certain."

_All right. _Steve memorized the facility's coordinates and handed the list back to Gonzalez. "Thank you, Doctor," he said. "I'll be on my way now. I'll return later," he quickly added.

"We will await your return, Herr Skull," Gonzalez said, nervously bowing.

Steve exited the facility and then, with a great deal of relief, pulled the mask off. "How can you wear that thing?" he asked, wiping his face with one hand.

"I suggest you move quickly, Rogers," Johann said, grimly. "If Lukin's plan is what I suspect it to be, time may be of the essence."

"Why, what do you think it is?" Steve asked.

"A mad Communist general, running to a fallout shelter?" Johann smiled horribly. "His designs may be more than mere revenge."

Steve took a sharp breath. "He wouldn't."

"Wouldn't he? Never underestimate the depth of evil, Rogers. You will be disappointed."

"Even _you've _never tried to blow up the world," Steve pointed out.

"No, but I have considered it on numerous occasions," Johann said casually.

Steve shook his head. "You're crazy."

"You are a master of stating the obvious, Rogers."

* * *

Steve called Sharon Carter next.

"Steve? How are you doing?" Sharon asked.

"This isn't a social call," Steve said, apologetically. "I need SHIELD's help."

Sharon frowned. "What have you gotten yourself into now?"

"I know where Lukin and the Winter Soldier are," Steve said. He relayed the coordinates. "And I don't know what their plans are, but we have to stop them before they get into the underground vault."

Sharon looked worried. "Steve . . . how do you know all this?"

Steve winced. "The Skull told me."

"Do you think you can trust him?"

Steve looked at Johann, who raised his eyebrows. "No. But I think he's telling the truth this time, or at least, part of the truth."

Sharon hesitated. "All right. I'll see what I can do. Just keep an eye on him."

"It cannot be said that you are not doing that," Johann said, smugly. "An eye . . . among other things."

Steve turned red, and quickly ended the call.

* * *

At the facility, the Falcon spotted the Winter Soldier, and called out a warning to Steve. Steve threw his shield straight at the Soldier, and then cut his way through his backup, chasing him deeper into the facility. But the Winter Soldier caught him off guard, and out-fought him.

On his knees, looking up at him, Steve could see clearly that it was Bucky's face looking down at him. He couldn't deny it any longer.

He searched those cold eyes for any trace of the man he had known all those years ago . . . and made his decision.

If even the Red Skull could have some humanity in him, how could he ever think Bucky beyond saving?

"Fine . . . then go ahead," he told the Winter Soldier. "Shoot me. If you truly don't know me . . . then just do it."

"You fool!" the Red Skull hissed. "No!"

Several things happened rapidly. First, the Falcon and Sharon Carter caught up to them. Second, the Winter Soldier pulled the trigger. And finally, Steve ducked and threw his shield at him.

The shield struck the Winter Soldier and knocked him to the ground. His satchel was knocked off. It fell open, and something dropped out of it.

A small, clear, white cube.

Steve bent over to pick it up, and then his eyes widened when he realized what he was looking at. He had no time to react further, because the darkness lurking in the bottom of his mind rose up suddenly with full force as the Red Skull made a bid to control his body.

"No . . ." Steve gasped out. He sank back to his knees, wrapping his arms around the Cosmic Cube in an attempt to keep it from the Winter Soldier while he was fighting the Skull.

"This . . . was . . . your plan all along . . . wasn't it?" Steve said.

_Yes, _Johann said, gloating. _I had the Cube when I died . . . it had just enough power to transfer my consciousness into your body. Your SHIELD friends knew, too, and they kept it from you. And they were right to, because soon you will be under my control!_

Steve struggled with all his might to keep the darkness at bay. It began to seem helpless . . . and suddenly it came to him that he would never beat the Red Skull by fighting. They were too evenly matched, and the Red Skull knew all there was to know about hatred and war.

So instead he closed his eyes and reached deep inside himself. He thought of sitting in that theatre, joking with Bucky. He thought of kissing Sharon for the first time. He thought of seeing Johann's face, defiant in front of him. He thought of fighting side by side with Sam.

Inside him, Johann recoiled in pain, and Steve slowly got to his feet, holding the Cosmic Cube. He looked the Winter Soldier in the eyes. "Remember who you are," he said.

His words had the weight of power, and blue energy enveloped the Winter Soldier. He sank to his knees, clutching his head as the memories came rushing back. " . . . no . . . no . . ."

"It's okay, Buck," Steve said gently. "It's going to be okay." But he had one more thing to do, so he turned away from Bucky, and closed his eyes, speaking to Johann now. _As for you . . . I think it's time for you to go._

Blue energy flowed out of the cube, and it slowly took the form of a man. Johann Schmidt looked down at himself in shock, suddenly standing next to Steve in his original form. "You - " he started, and then broke off.

The Falcon looked at Steve, then at Schmidt, then at Bucky, kneeling with tears in his eyes. "So," he said. "What are you going to do with that thing?"

Steve looked down at the Cube. "I think enough innocent people have been hurt by this." He shut his eyes, and, slowly, the Cube was enveloped in its own energies, and vanished.

"Cap . . . how can I . . ." Bucky said, crying. "You should've just . . . killed me."

"What?" Steve said, helping him to his feet. "No. I never could."

"Get away from me!" Bucky said, pushing him away. "Please . . . no . . ." He backed up, looking like a cornered animal.

"It's okay, Buck. I promise."

But Bucky's eyes were wild. He stared at Steve for a second, and then he turned on his heel and started running.

"Bucky!" Steve shouted, and started to run after him - only to be caught by Sam Wilson.

"No," Sam said, quietly. "He needs time, Steve. So do you."

"All right," Sharon said, suddenly. She was holding Johann at gunpoint. "I have just one question. Who the hell is this?"

* * *

Steve explained the situation to Sharon and Sam while he handcuffed Johann. He saw a smug smirk dart across Johann's lips when he skimmed over the details of their interactions; the last thing he wanted right now was to have to explain to his best friends why he'd had sex with the Red Skull.

"Good to know you're not losing your marbles," Sam said, giving him a friendly pat on the back.

"Don't be too sure of that," Sharon said.

They piled back onto the SHIELD transport. Sam piloted it, with Sharon next to him, while Steve sat next to the handcuffed Red Skull.

"So," said Johann. "Is this how it ends? The monsters defeated, the hero triumphant?"

"Don't call yourself that," Steve said, automatically. "You're not a monster."

"He's right," said Sharon from the front. "'Monster' implies he didn't have a choice. He's worse than that. He's a man who chose to be what he is."

Johann ignored her and eyed Steve suspiciously. After a while, Steve spoke again, his voice too quiet for Sharon and Sam to hear him over the engines. "Was that all a part of your plan to get your hands on the Cosmic Cube?"

"If by 'that,'" Johann replied acerbically, "You mean sleeping with you . . . then no. That was merely for my own entertainment."

"Not just that - you know what I mean, Skull."

"Of course I do. What do you want to hear, Rogers? Do you want me to pretend I am capable of love? You have seen the tattered remains of my soul."

"But I've also seen how badly you want to love me," Steve said, quietly.

Johann was silent for a second. What Steve said wasn't exactly true. But to correct him would require Johann to sort through the tangled mass of emotions he had for Captain America. He didn't really know what he wanted from Steve. All he knew was that he _wanted, _with a desperate, unhealthy passion. "I want to kill you, Rogers."

"You told me once that that was only ever a distraction. That what you really wanted was to fight me, forever. Then you told me that fighting me makes you miserable." Steve reached out and put an arm around Johann's shoulders. "So give it up. You don't have to be a hero to know to stop what isn't working."

Johann tensed up against Steve. If anyone else had touched him like that - gently, kindly - he would have slapped them away. But he couldn't - his hands were cuffed, and he found that a comfort suddenly.

He leaned into Captain America. "I'm tired, Captain."

Steve wrapped his arms around him. "I know. It's okay. So am I. We've been fighting for a long time."


End file.
